VALIDITY OF TEMPERAMENT CONSTRUCTS USING THE STUDENT STYLES QUESTIONNAIRE - COMPARISONS FOR 3 RACIAL-ETHNIC GROUPS

Studies establishing the validity of a test used with persons from dif ferent ethnic groups are necessary for understanding the extent to whi ch the test adequately and consistently reflects the qualities it is d esigned to measure. The present study examined the construct and conte nt validity of the Student Styles Questionnaire (SSQ) for three racial -ethnic groups (i.e., African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Angle Americans). The SSQ is a temperament measure for students aged 8 thro ugh 17. Comparative construct validity results indicate that a high de gree of factor similarity exists across racial-ethnic groups; factor s imilarity is less strong when Hispanic Americans living in New York an d Texas are compared. Differential item functioning studies reveal sim ilar response patterns for Hispanic Americans when compared to both Af rican Americans and Angle Americans; however, differences occur on 25% of items when African and Angle Americans are compared.